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Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani – A Review

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani(YJHD) is Ayan Mukherjee’s sophomore attempt at telling a new millennia coming of age story with Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Aditya Roy Kapur and Kalki Koechlin. Ayan Mukherjee grabbed all the right headlines with his rooted in reality Wake Up Sid(WuS) which also acted as the first real Ranbir Kapoor launchpad.

Unlike WuS, YJHD suffers from what I’d assume is the Johar effect of fake accents, loud Manish Malhotra couture and outlandish wedding celebrations. I want to get the bad parts out of the way first so that I can then talk of the movie’s redeeming factor. Considering that UTV is the production house under whose banner this movie is distributed the roy-kapur nepotism threatens to derail the story with a drunk Aditya Roy-Kapur ( once again) and a bumbling buffoon Kunal Roy-Kapur ( once again). The introduction of the Evelyn Sharma to the movie serves no purpose and is about as subtle as nails on a chalkboard.

With that out of the way I want to dedicate the rest of the review to the biggest revelation of the movie – Deepika Padukone’s Naina who goes from geek to chic with such casual ease and confident demeanor that it is a breath of fresh air. Not once did I find anything to fault her for. She essentially carries the entire movie on her shoulders and once again it goes to show that no matter how much Ayan Mukherjee says he wrote the movie with Ranbir in mind it is quite clear that Ayan Mukherjee writes her leading ladies as strong level headed rooted in reality. She is essentially the heart of the movie and she melts yours with her dimpled reluctant smiles. Even in her limited role Kalki Koechlin is effective and again proves why she leaves a lasting impression in the itsy bitsy roles.

Ranbir who is charisma personified struggles with Kabir and is not as natural with the role as he was with Sid. In order to portray the carefree, adrenaline-chasing thrill-seeking travel enthusiast he often comes off as rather cocky and at times insensitive. He does manage to reel in the cocky arrogance and exudes that legendary Kapoor charm and manages to salvage the movie in the second half.

The other saving grace of the movie is the combination of what is arguably the best music album of year courtesy Pritam and some of the most breathtaking visuals captured through the lenses of Manikandan, the sweeping panoramas of Himalayas, the dazzling lights of Paris and the scenic sunsets of Udaipur has not been better served on the Indian screens.

Watch this movie because despite its pitfalls this is a beautifully told story of friendship, love, powered by one hell of a soundtrack Watch it because even if Ranbir is slightly off his game he is still better than all his peers and seniors by a clear mile. Watch it for an acting turn by Deepika that is an even bigger delight than the return to the big screen of the dancing diva Madhuri Dixit